The Pennsylvania House of Representative’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee Monday unanimously adopted a proposal by Rep. Mark Keller (R-Perry) that would further centralize and incentivize agriculture education in Pennsylvania.

The proposal, House Bill 944, would create a Commission for Agricultural Education, which will be overseen by both the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

As of June 30, 2016, the Pennsylvania General Assembly sat on a funding reserve of $118 million, a report from an independent auditor released Monday morning states.

The audit, performed by accounting firm Boyer & Ritter of Camp Hill for the price of $172,500 and accepted by the Legislative Audit Advisory Commission (LAAC) Monday shows that the legislative surplus—oft the aim of criticism over legislative transparency and money-hoarding—was down from the surplus of $126 million reported as of June 30, 2015, and nearly $90 million less than the surplus was just a decade ago.

Legislation that would largely reenact the municipal gun ordinance preemption provisions of Act 192 of 2014 overwhelmingly passed the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

The bill, House Bill 2258, would grant standing to Pennsylvania residents who are lawfully able to possess a firearm and membership organizations representing a similarly situated individual to challenge municipal gun ordinances they believe are preempted by state law.

Work began in Pennsylvania’s General Assembly Tuesday to delay a ballot question set to appear during April’s primary election that, if approved, would increase the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 75.

Two Senate bills that sponsors say would bring more transparency to collective bargaining negotiations made their way out of the House State Government Committee Tuesday morning and now head to the House Floor for consideration.

Senate Bill 644 by Sen. Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon) would require the Independent Fiscal Office to conduct a fiscal impact study of any collective bargaining agreement before it is officially enacted.

“Senate Bill 644 represents an ongoing effort to bring openness and transparency to state government,” Sen. Folmer said of his bill. “[It] does this by focusing on the cost, not on the details associated with the Commonwealth’s collective bargaining agreements.”